Israeli PM visits Kazakhstan

MOSCOW – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting Kazakhstan, the first trip to the ex-Soviet nation by an Israeli leader.

Following Netanyahu’s talks with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the two countries on Tuesday signed agreements on co-operation in scientific research, civil aviation, medicine and agriculture. They also agreed to work more closely together in fighting terrorism.

Netanyahu commended Nazarbayev, who has led Kazakhstan for 27 years, first as its Communist boss and then as president, for creating an atmosphere of tolerance in the Central Asian nation. He said Jews who came from Kazakhstan to Israel “speak very warmly of Kazakhstan and of the attitude towards all religions here.”

He hailed agreements to bolster ties between Israel and Kazakhstan, saying that “this example of Muslim-Jewish co-operation is something that reverberates throughout the world.”